Meetings Today BlogIndustry experts discuss a variety of topics specific to the meetings and events industry.https://www.meetingstoday.com/blog'Tis the Season: Ethics of Gifting & Entertaininghttps://www.meetingstoday.com/blog/postid/532/tis-the-season-ethics-of-gifting-entertainingHospitality,Incentives,legal,LiabilityFri, 07 Dec 2018 17:10:25 GMT<p><strong>Prologue: </strong>Picture this &hellip; it&rsquo;s the season of gift giving <em>and</em> of year-end hotel contract deadlines. I&rsquo;m working feverishly to finish a number of complex hotel contracts for clients before everyone takes time off for the Christmas holidays. My spouse brings a box from our mail room to my home office.</p>
<p>I ask, as I continue to write contract provisions, from whom the box was sent, thinking it must be from a family member or friend. When the sender is mentioned&mdash;a salesperson with whom we are in difficult (politely said!) negotiations&mdash;I loudly say &ldquo;DROP IT!&rdquo;*</p>
<p>In one of my favorite films, <em><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defending_Your_Life" target="_blank">Defending Your Life</a></strong></em>, we see that after death, one&rsquo;s &lsquo;first stop&rdquo; is a place that looks remarkably like Epcot Center. There, we are tasked with watching videos of our lives and &ldquo;defending&rdquo; our every action. It has a wonderfully funny tie-in to our industry with scenes about who gets the &ldquo;better&rdquo; hotels with the &ldquo;better&rdquo; turn-down amenities as a result of what appears from our lives. Chuckling as I write this&mdash;thinking not unlike who gets the upgrades in real life, huh?</p>
<p>The film is amusing, down-right funny (think whether you want to be seen by important people as you slurp your linguini in a restaurant) thoughtful and insightful.</p>
<p>Differently staged and with similar intent, is <em><strong><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_Life_(1975_TV_series)" target="_blank">The Good Life</a></strong></em>, a TV production that so fascinated me, I now have a desire to recommend viewing episodes in preparation for ethics discussions in classes I teach and programs I facilitate. Is there a &ldquo;good&rdquo; place or a &ldquo;bad&rdquo; place after we die? Is it like Epcot Center? I don&rsquo;t know. I do know that my actions after receiving the box would have to be defended.</p>
<p>The point? Many of you will give or receive gifts or entertain or be entertained by those with whom you are doing business, have done business, referred business or one day may do business. What goes into your thinking as you chose to whom to give or entertain, and for the recipients, to accept a gift or invitation or not?</p>
<p>How much would the potential of &ldquo;defending&rdquo; your actions&mdash;now, to an ethics committee or an HR or other officials in your company or professional organization&mdash;play in your choice of what and how much you gift to, or accept from, someone?</p>
<p><strong>Research:</strong> In preparation to write the <strong><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/blog/postid/530/safety-and-inclusion-tips-for-meetings-in-troubling-times" target="_blank">initial blog post in the October 2018 newsletter</a></strong> and for this post you&rsquo;re reading, I did extensive new research: conversations with current and former hotel executives, industry attorneys, and <strong><a href="https://www.eventscouncil.org/" target="_blank">EIC</a></strong> and EIC-member organizations&rsquo; representatives; reading articles about our industry&rsquo;s and others&rsquo; ethics practices; reading hotel companies&rsquo; ethics policies [highly recommend and easily found with a search**]; and asking, via social media for those interested in responding to questions about industry ethics to contact me. A compilation of those responses<strong> <a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/32996/title/ethics-what-your-meetings-colleagues-say" target="_blank">can be found here</a></strong>.</p>
<p>I also asked questions of three industry recruiters&mdash;MeetingJobs, Searchwide, and Vetted Solutions. The <strong><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/32993/title/qa-ethics-job-interviews" target="_blank">responses from their CEOs are in this section</a></strong> of the December 2018 Friday With Joan newsletter.</p>
<p><strong>Preview:</strong> I was &hellip; well, read it and you might figure out my response after reading on.</p>
<p>And once read, please <a href="https://goo.gl/forms/ssAqyc9z2UQZtBrv1" target="_blank"><strong>answer the Friday With Joan poll questions</strong></a>.</p>
<p><strong>Analysis:</strong> EIC, our industry&rsquo;s umbrella organization, was unable to tell me which of its members has an enforceable code of ethics and/or conduct. In my research I learned that of those who do, two are <strong><a href="https://www.nsaspeaker.org/code-of-ethics/" target="_blank">NSA</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://www.nace.net/codeofethics" target="_blank">NACE</a></strong>. I know that MPI, PCMA, and ASAE do not have enforceable codes, although MPI did at one time. ASAE has a separate, enforceable code for those who have achieved their CAE&mdash;Certified Association Executive&mdash;designation; the code for all other members is aspirational.</p>
<p>Those who have achieved their CMP&mdash;Certified Meeting Professional&mdash;are <strong><a href="https://www.eventscouncil.org/CMP/About-CMP/CMP-Ethics" target="_blank">bound by this code</a></strong>, which is worded much like the codes of many of the EIC organizations that have codes of conduct or ethics.</p>
<p>(Use <strong><a href="https://www.eventscouncil.org/About-Us/Our-Members" target="_blank">this link to EIC members</a></strong>; go to their sites to read the codes. Even if you are not a member of one of these organizations, it is likely you will do business with someone who is).</p>
<p>I verified with colleagues with whom I served on the then-CLC Board some years ago that our umbrella organization formerly required an enforceable code of ethics to be an EIC member. Now, it is asked that a code be submitted with the membership application, but it is not required for membership.</p>
<p>I confirmed that HSMAI, for example, does not have a code of conduct or ethics.</p>
<p>I imagine others do not as well.</p>
<p>Of those with enforceable codes, I was told the main charge of an ethics violation is the use of a certification when it has not been earned or renewed.</p>
<p>This was believed, by those with whom I spoke, to be a belief that few are violating the codes.</p>
<p>And now, &lsquo;tis the season of gifts and entertainment. Many feel valued if they receive a gift or an invitation. Those on the receiving end believe it is perhaps their due for the hard work they have performed. Perhaps the invitation to an event is viewed as an opportunity to network even if they have no business to offer; the receipt of a gift, seen as one of friendship beyond the business relationship.</p>
<p>How do we decide when it&rsquo;s appropriate to offer and accept gifts or invitations? And more, when is it appropriate to flaunt these gifts and entertainment on social media for all to see and perhaps question if a code of ethics&mdash;that of an employer or industry association&mdash;has been violated?</p>
<p>During this season of giving, it is also the season of year-end business and for some independent meeting planners and others who work for commissions, a season of meeting a deadline <strong><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/32929/title/hyatt-commission-cuts-meetings-events" target="_blank">before commissions are lowered by some hotel companies</a></strong>. To that, many are posting that they are going around the &ldquo;system&rdquo; and finding ways to receive what they believe is their &ldquo;due&rdquo;&mdash;a commission amount that is greater than that announced by hotel companies. More details <strong><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/newsevents/industrynews/industrynewsdetails/articleid/31950/title/meeting-planners-unite-to-form-indie-association" target="_blank">here</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/newsevents/industrynews/industrynewsdetails/articleid/31915/title/spin-demands-equal-commissions-in-marriott-petition" target="_blank">here</a></strong>.</p>
<p>In my research again, I was told by many current and former hoteliers and others that this practice will face consequences. This was stated to me, and I&rsquo;ve agreed to, as I do with many, keep the confidence of the person who provided this input:</p>
<p>&ldquo;By encouraging hotels to breach the requirement that they adhere to brand standards, or to hide the payment in some fashion to deceive, planners need to evaluate whether they could potentially be liable for interfering with the contract or if they are perpetrating some kind of fraud. Even more disturbing however is that this takes the profession back not just a step, but a mile.</p>
<p>&ldquo;It seems a lot like the concepts that planners finally overcame when some were asking for blind commissions. If the planners are handling the commission in this fashion, they need to be mindful that are acting on behalf of the group [for whom they are doing business].</p>
<p>&ldquo;They need to be concerned about this being a potential violation of the group&rsquo;s code of ethics.&rdquo;</p>
<p>And as noted above, it may also be a violation of the brand&rsquo;s code of ethics.</p>
<p>From everything I see and hear, from the justifications in classes and other conversations and those in social media, and from the many reports in the news and the investigation of us by the U.S. Congress, I think we are moving into even more dangerous territory in and outside of our industry. Many find ways to justify their actions in the request for and acceptance of gifts, perks, and entertainment: we&rsquo;re underpaid, under-appreciated, work long hours, need to network to find a new job, etc.</p>
<p><strong>Suggested Actions to Help Avoid Unethical Gifting Situations:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Read your employer&rsquo;s or client&rsquo;s or business partners&rsquo; code of ethics.</li>
<li>Share your code with those with whom you are doing business.</li>
<li>Agree at the start of a business relationship, even one that has a long-friendship behind it or becomes a friendship, by what ethics you will together abide.</li>
<li>Determine how your codes guide you for tradeshow drawings, invitations to events, giving and receiving gifts and attending hosted-buyer events. If the codes are not that specific, discuss how they can be.</li>
<li>Provide examples in the comments or to me at <strong><a href="mailto:FridayWithJoan@aol.com">FridayWithJoan@aol.com</a></strong> for posting without attribution examples of how we, as an industry, are ethical or how we can be more so. Share the ways we&nbsp;can improve together.</li>
</ol>
<p>May the light of this season and the hope of the new year bring our industry and us individually to new thinking about how we do business and how we want to be seen.</p>
<p><strong>*You wanted to know what happened, right? I called the client immediately and was told that they too had received a box.</strong></p>
<p><strong>Neither of us had opened it. I asked what we should do.</strong></p>
<p><strong>It was agreed I&rsquo;d call the salesperson and say that we could not accept the gifts.</strong></p>
<p><strong>I was told that these were not practical to return. The client agreed that they would use them in an office gifting event and that I could dispose of the gift by donating it.&nbsp; </strong></p>
<p><strong>**You will find, in your search, codes for how hotel companies deal with their own vendors, customers and staff. The codes are enlightening.</strong></p>
<p><em>Editor&rsquo;s Note: The views expressed by contributing bloggers are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Meetings Today or its parent company.</em></p>
<p><strong>Related Reading From the December 2018 Edition of Friday With Joan</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/32993/title/qa-ethics-job-interviews" target="_blank"><strong>Q&amp;A: Recruiters Talk Ethics and Job Interviews</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/magazines/article-details/articleid/32996/title/ethics-what-your-meetings-colleagues-say" target="_blank"><strong>Ethics: What Your Meetings Colleagues Say</strong></a></li>
<li><a href="https://goo.gl/forms/g7QAnPdBOHkf4tfh2" target="_blank"><strong>What&#39;s Your Take? December 2018 Ethics Survey</strong></a></li>
<li><strong>Related FWJ Blog Post and Part I of Our Conversation on Ethics:<br />
<a href="https://www.meetingstoday.com/blog/postid/529/our-industrys-reputation-and-yours-are-at-stake-help-is-needed" target="_blank">Our Industry&#39;s Reputation and Yours Are at Stake -- Help Is Needed!</a></strong></li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Click here to view additional content in <a href="http://www.meetingstoday.com/newsletters/friday_with_joan/2018_12_07.html" target="_blank">the 12.07.18&nbsp;Friday With Joan newsletter</a>.</strong></p>
<div class="author-section">
<p><strong>Posted by Joan L. Eisenstodt</strong></p>
<p><img alt="Joan Eisenstodt Headshot" src="/Portals/0/images/2018/Friday_With_Joan/Joan_Eisenstodt_Author_Bio_200.jpg" style="width: 200px; height: 200px;" title="Joan Eisenstodt Headshot" /></p>
<p><strong>Follow Joan on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/joaneisenstodt" target="_blank">@joaneisenstodt</a></strong></p>
</div>
532Scenery Steals the Show in Western Coloradohttps://www.meetingstoday.com/blog/postid/234/scenery-steals-the-show-in-western-coloradoDestination Selection,Family-Friendly,Incentives,Retreat Meetings,Site SelectionWed, 19 Aug 2015 21:53:56 GMT<p>Colorado&rsquo;s Gateway Canyons Resort, near the Utah border in the state&rsquo;s western realms, is one of those places that feels wildly remote but is actually pretty accessible. Just over an hour&rsquo;s drive from the Grand Junction airport, the property is an oasis of outdoor experiences, lush comfort and&mdash;dominating every visit&mdash;spectacular vistas.</p>
<p>If there were a world record for most pictures taken on a media FAM, my group must have shattered it during our recent visit. Whether from high plateaus reached during UTV and horseback-riding outings, aboard a helicopter zipping through Grand Canyon-esque terrain or just strolling the sprawling property, photogenic landscapes are practically crying out for their close-up. My personal favorite view was of the iconic palisades outcropping neighboring the resort (below), though there dozens of close seconds.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Gateway%20Canyons%20palisade.JPG" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" /></p>
<p>The remarkable setting includes a range of lush lodgings done in a style that seamlessly blends luxurious comfort with handsome Pueblo-style architecture. With only 74 units (to go with its 12K feet of event space) there&#39;s also plenty of breathing room for everyone. My casita was hallmarked by high ceilings, tasteful interior design with a rustic touch, and a comfortable king bed. Nice touches included a spacious bathroom with an extra, enclosed outdoor shower, and two large-screen televisions that actually used DirecTV cable&mdash;rather than the standard in-house TV systems used at most hotels/resorts these days that are maddening to navigate.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Gateway%20Canyons%20Driven%20Experience.JPG" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" /></p>
<p>Then again, no one comes to a place like this to just watch television, not with the array of outdoor fun emphasizing memorable incentive-group experiences. My personal favorite adventure might have been zooming through the nearby canyons in a Camaro convertible (above)&mdash;courtesy of a Driven Experience program showcasing everything from Bentleys to Porsches and beyond. But our group horseback trek to an outdoor pavilion in the hills was amazing as well, feasting on a delicious cookout-style buffet and taking in an old-timey band playing live tunes. Also unforgettable was a short helicopter tour (below) that took us through eye-catching gullies and past all sorts of high-desert terrain.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Gateway%20Canyons%20copter_1.JPG" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" /></p>
<p>Our UTV expedition high up into the hills provided plenty of adventure, and endless photo ops as well. And if you&rsquo;re on the lookout for more-sedate pleasures, the recently added new spa added yet another highlight to my visit with a massage so soothing it bordered on nirvana. The enchanting pool area (below) is a serene oasis as well, enhanced by a great little cafe/bar serving elevated pub fare and colorful drinks; and the Jacuzzi, highlighted by a large boulder in the center, is the perfect centerpiece for it all.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Gateway%20Canyons%20pool%20area.JPG" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" /></p>
<p>Also worth a mention are an impressive auto museum with a plethora of classic cars (loved the red Thunderbird pictured below), and a number of educational adventures and doings that include searching out actual dinosaur track fossils and evening stargazing gatherings. It should be noted that the resort is the brainchild of Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, whose many passions include astronomy and automobiles.</p>
<p><img alt="" src="/Portals/0/Gateway%20Canyons%20car%20museum.JPG" style="width: 500px; height: 375px;" /></p>
<p>The fantastic food can easily get overshadowed in the scenery and excitement, but every meal we had was top-notch, including a Maine lobster fricassee served at the closing dinner event. And while I wasn&rsquo;t able to squeeze it into my agenda with all the other fun going on, the property also offers a Pro-Baja truck adventure course where you can ride along on a wild outing with a trained expert&mdash;or take a one-day course and get behind the wheel yourself!</p>
<p>But whether your group is there for some idyllic relaxation or a gamut of adventures, Gateway Canyons really is a special place.</p>
234